The Wizards and the Muggles: Consolidated
by Wanderlust
Summary: Reposting my second story in a consolidated version. NOTE THE DATE - pre GOF. Has comments in it that predate the chaptering system, I can't fix it, it's not backed up.


The military helicopter pilot , flying towards Scotland, was slightly bored as he pulled the stick around to heading 10. He'd been on many flights before, and he realized he was slightly off course, but he didn't really care. After all, he was a veteran.

"Sir, reporting in, at 5 degrees west, 55 degrees north, all is well," the pilot said, as it was time to report in.

"Acknowledged. You are off course, pilot."

"With all due respect, sir, so what? I don't understand the course you plotted anyway."

"The area you will be flying through if you do not divert course or change speed in less than two minutes is an area with oddly heavy winds; it's dangerous."

"I can handle it, sir."

"You are the best pilot in the Royal Air Force, I'll hand you that. Just don't destroy that helicopter."

The pilot grinned widely. "Understood. Out."

Well, two minutes had passed and he didn't seem to notice any wind problems. Odd, indeed. He'll have to tell that to his superior.

  
  


Professor Dumbledore was pacing in his study. He had never exactly understood why Cornelius Fudge and everyone else was afraid of the muggles finding out about the magical peoples. There did seem to be reasons, such as that muggles would sit down and waste away while wizards conjured all the things they needed, but that would be solved by the services of a wizard being at a very high cost indeed. All these problems could be solved - but the chances were that the magical community would be in hiding forever. However, Albus Dumbledore did need a distraction; he had very little to do now that Sirius Black had been caught, released by Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, and all the students were back home with their parents - or in Harry's case, back home with his horrible aunt and uncle. At least they'd be coming back in a week, on Sept. 1st.

  
  


The pilot squinted in to his goggles. Was that a castle there? Where were the high winds? What in God's name is going on here? And what the hell was THAT?!? He would have sworn he just saw a half-bird, half-horse flying creature soar along the windows of the castle! Blindly, the pilot reached for his camera. He put it up to his eye and activated the zoom lens. Sure enough - there was a eagle/horse flying in circles around the castle! He zoomed in some more - and hit the shutter button.

"Your report has been analyzed, pilot, and we consider it, and the picture, 100% genuine. We have also looked at the picture more closely, and through one of the windows of this castle we can see a woman with square glasses in black robes pointing a wand at a sparkling plate of food! Do you have any ideas, pilot?"

"None, sir. I suggest we take a closer look."

"Your suggestion is noted. However, it is paralleled by the one from our superior. You will go back to that place, same copter, but loaded with what must be half of all the recording devices in Britain."

"When am I leaving, sir?"

"On Sept. 2nd, when we get your copter prepped. Until then, you're on leave."

"Thank you, sir."

"Dismissed."

  
  


Harry Potter woke up on time in the bright morning of the 2nd of September, and reached for his glasses. He put them on, looked out the window, and nearly dropped his watch. 

"Ron!" he said loudly, tapping his friend on the shoulder. "Ron!"

"Huh...what?"

"Ron, do you see that?"

Ron straightened and rubbed his eyes. "You," he yawned, "mean that muggle helicopter? MUGGLE HELICOPTER?"

"We've got to see the headmaster immediately!" Harry and Ron put on their clothes in record time, and ran downstairs to the common room.

"Hi, Harry, Ron, good morning," Hermione said.

"Hermione, there's a muggle helicopter outside!" the two boys said together.

"A muggle helicopter? How can you be sure?"

"Because we BOTH saw it," Ron shot back.

"We have to tell the headmaster," Harry said. "You coming?"

"Sure."

The party of three jumped through the portrait of the fat lady and were running through the corridors when their least favorite teacher stopped them.

"Well well well," Professor Snape said. "1st full day at school and already breaking rules. Running in the halls. Five points from Gryffindor."

"Don't bother denying it," Harry whispered to the other two. "Just slow down until he's out of sight."

They did so, and found Professor McGonagall, after going past five corridors and a suit of armor.

"Professor," Harry panted. "There's a muggle helicopter outside. We need to see Dumbledore."

"You can't be serious, Potter."

"It's true, we saw it," Ron insisted.

"If what you say is true, the Ministry has a major crisis on its hands. If it's not, you will most likely be suspended. I'll go get him."

A minute later, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall appeared with a loud CRACK. The three students looked at each other. This must have been more important than they thought. 

"Where did you see the helicopter, children?"

"In our dormitory," said Harry. "Hermione didn't actually see it."

"Professor McGonagall, warn the students and teachers, and then send an urgent owl to the Ministry. Harry, Ron, Hermione, come with me." They started running all the way back to the common room. The headmaster was nearly at the portrait of the fat lady - he could go fast for an old man - when they heard, echoing through the halls of the school, Professor McGonagall's voice.

"All students, return to the common rooms immediately. Everyone, please leave their dormitories. All teachers, please come to the staff room as soon as possible."

"Hello, headmaster. Password?" the fat lady asked.

"Giant Squid."

The fat lady swung aside for the headmaster and the three students.

  
  


The helicopter pilot had just heard an announcement coming from the castle, as the copter hovered, the recording devices scanning the whole area. The voice was pretty loud, even in a helicopter. It was obvious. "All students return to the common rooms immediately," was what it had said. Students? The helicopter pilot fell back in his seat - this was a school!

  
  


The rest of the kids in the common room were staring open-mouthed at Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as they tore through the common room and up to the dormitory, where Seamus Finnigan was getting dressed. Dumbledore looked out the window, took one glance, and took out his wand. He put it out the window, muttered something, and a jet of red light hit one of the cameras and melted it to slime.

  
  


An old man from inside this school was pointing a wand out of one of the windows. Now the helicopter pilot was getting real suspicious. A jet of red light came out of it, and one of the cameras went dark. He heeled over and pulled up immediately Another jet of light came out, missing his propeller by inches and instead a tree beside him melted down in to slime. He turned his defense machine gun towards the window, with his finger on the trigger.

  
  


Dumbledore fired again, hitting what looked like a microphone on the helicopter, and it too became sludge. A hail of bullets ripped through the castle wall, hitting Neville Longbottom on the leg. He fell, shrieking, as Dumbledore stood up and put his wand away. Ron and Hermione were already lifting him up, taking him to the hospital wing.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry asked, "what's going to happen now that the muggles know about us?"

"They will send in more people and helicopters. What we did must have been done, but the muggles may consider it an act of war. If they do, more people may end up like poor Neville."

  
  
  
  


Part Two

  
  


"Ron, this may become a full-fledged war!"

"You think I'm not thinking that, Hermione!"

"We can't beat the whole muggle population, you two. Whatever happens, if it gets bad, we're screwed. The Ministry will have Dumbledore out, too. He's the one who provoked that attack," Harry said tiredly. He sighed. 

"You're right. They'll take Dumbledore out," Ron said, realizing the consequences of that. "He'll be ruined! Remembered as the wizard who let the muggles find out about us!"

Hermione was just sitting there with her mouth open in an O.

"What can we do? Not even your status as three-time defeater of You-Know-Who will convince the Ministry not to sack him!"

"I have a status as defeater of - "

"Forget it. What I mean to say is that we can't do anything to stop his downfall."

Ron's comment left them all thinking, shocked, and terrified.

  
  


The helicopter pilot was shocked. He had heard a scream! He had actually...hit someone! He killed someone! He killed a poor child....who probably had no idea! Suddenly, it was all gone. Gone. For a second, the pilot could feel the memories being sucked away. Then, all he remembered was his destination. _Go to base. Today is August 25th. I have no mission at this time._ Yes, that was right. He was going in the right direction. Buried deep within his mind, so deep he couldn't access them, were the echoes of that scream.

  
  


On the tallest tower in all the castle, Professor McGonagall was pacing around Dumbledore's study angrily. Dumbledore was in his chair, looking in his desk for something. Flitwick was crying on the floor. Snape was standing there with a cruel, twisted sneer. Trelawney was muttering something about fate. However, the room was deathly silent.

McGonagall's anger finally escaped her. "It's what YOU would have done, Mr. Cornelius Fudge, so you can't do this!"

"Nevertheless, it is done, Minerva. However, I am not out until the end of the school year. Oh well," Dumbledore sighed, "It just means my retirement will be earlier than I thought it would be."

"You're the one getting let go and you care the least out of all of us?!?"

"Let's just say I have a gift for controlling my anger. However, I must disprove you on one note, Severus cares the least out of all of us."

Snape tightened his lip considerably and he looked away.

"No matter, though, Minerva, however, I daresay the students will not be happy either."

  
  


"Actually, when you think about it, maybe Dumbledore WAS wrong," Hermione said, as the three sat in the common room cursing Professor Snape for the three hours of homework they had to do.

Ron blotted his paper, he was so shocked. "Dumbledore?"

"Yes, Dumbledore. Why didn't Dumbledore shoot at the weapons first? Why didn't he consider what might have happened?"

"He had no choice! That thing was loaded with a lot of Muggle equipment! Who knows what the copter was doing there anyway! Spying?"

"He nearly got Neville killed!"

  
  


The secret agents snuck in that night, surrounding the school. Silently, they all were hiding in the surrounding bushes, whispering orders to each other. They had no idea what they were getting in to. 

  
  


The Magical Law Enforcement Hit Wizards apparated to the grounds outside Hogwarts. Over a hundred of them entered the school, sent by Cornelius Fudge himself. The leader told Dumbledore, "We're here to evacuate the kids." Just then, the muggle agents charged out of the bushes, rifles drawn at Dumbledore and the Hit Wizards. "Freeze!" Dumbledore and the wizards put their hands up.

  
  


Part Three

  
  


The Hit Wizards were silently telling each other when to strike. The muggle agent leader had just pushed Dumbledore with his rifle when they all pulled out their wands. A number of Body-Binds later, all the agents were lying on the ground. Dumbledore magically levitated them and took them inside the castle. A number were put in the hospital wing for injuries, the others were given free reign of the dungeons, terrified.

  
  


Meanwhile, in London, Cornelius Fudge was desperately trying to patch things up. He had requested a number of audiences with the Prime Minister, only to be told to go away. He was getting more annoyed by the second at these muggles.

  
  


"Lunch!" Harry called. He, Ron, Neville and Hermione had volunteered to care for the muggle agents during mealtime. He served the plates on three tables that had appeared out of the air. One of the secret agents asked him what was going to be served, as this was their first meal at Hogwarts. Harry smiled. "Everything."

Then, the food appeared. The agents looked with wonder as the food appeared on the plates, and it smelled delicious. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville sat down, but the muggles looked suspiciously around to the sergeant. He said "Eat" and they all sat down.

_Of course, _Harry thought, _They still don't trust us_.

  
  


After lunch, McGonagall called everyone to the Great Hall. She began her speech like this: "As we all know, muggles have finally discovered magic and we are all in grave danger. If an understanding can be worked out between the wizards and the muggles, casualties are much less likely. A number of people have been recruited to go on a mission to Westminister to break in to Parliament and meet the Prime Minister. You will know some of them. The names that concerns students at Hogwarts are:

Arthur Weasley

Lucius Malfoy,

Joseph Goyle,

Jennifer Chang,

Amos Diggory,

Gregory Patil..."

  
  


After the meeting, Draco Malfoy intercepted the four of them with a snarl. "How the HELL did your father get on that group? They must be getting ever dumber at the Ministry-"

But he was interrupted by an incantation by Hermione. "_Silum."_ Malfoy could no longer make any noise from his vocal chords. He was silently screaming at Hermione to find the countercurse but Hermione didn't notice and was loudly laughing with Ron, Harry, and Neville.

  
  


Three days later, Hermione was mopping the floor in front of Dumbledore's office (her detention) and grumbling about Malfoy and Snape when she overheard some interesting conversation.

"Please, Albus, I have no intention of informing the children that some of their parents are in a muggle jail!"

"Don't they have a right to know?"

"They're worried about enough already. We need to keep the children safe and that doesn't mean getting them upset with worries. The muggles are interpreting every bad happening in history as related to us, and tell scary stories about witches!!"

"Minerva, would you like not knowing if your father got into a mess like that?"

Professor McGonagall opened and slammed the door, nearly crushing Hermione's ear which was pressed close to it. She didn't even notice Hermione as she stormed down the hall, growling.

Then Hermione got a bad, bad, bad idea.

  
  


Part 4

  
  


"You're telling us that we need to break in to the most heavily guarded building in all of England and we can't even Apparate!!"

"That's about it."

"You know the prime minister, Hermione?"

"He goes to my parents' dentistry office. I've met him. Nice guy."

Harry put his head in his hands. "So what's your master plan, Hermione?"

"You just heard it."

"Wonderful," Ron said sarcastically. "Just wonderful. Tell me, Hermione. Have you any previous records of being suicidal-"

"Oh, shut up."

"Hermione, he's got a point. What do we know about the security of Tony Blair? How many agents does he have with him? Where is he now, and where can we meet him?"

"His next dentist appointment. I can turn the chair into a portkey on short notice. We'll move him to Hogwarts. Enter Cornelius Fudge. Enter Albus Dumbledore. Perfect plan."

"Uh, Hermione? Look at your parents in that situation."

"Damn. Good point. I'll have to just ask that all three of them touch the chair at the same time." _And hope_, Hermione thought, _that he does._

  
  
  
  


"Minister Blair, we have lost all contact with the agents in the anomalous area. Request permission to bring in the Royal Air Force."

"Permission granted."

  
  


A week later, Christmas vacation started, and Hermione went go home to set up the Portkey while Harry and Ron practiced the spells they would use if any British agents came along.

"This reminds me of James Bond," Harry said.

"James Bond?"

"Oh, right, you don't-"

His thought was interrupted by an incredible shaking of the building. A candle flickered out, and the castle shook again.

Harry and Ron had just went to the window when a blast of green light shot out above them and melted the engine of a combat plane bearing the markings of the Royal Air Force. The plane banked and dipped, and fell towards the ground, its engine flaming. The canopy flew open and the pilot's chair ejected. A second later, the plane disappeared in to the forest in an explosion of flame.

Albus Dumbledore stepped in front of them. "Harry, please go inform the Heads of Houses to keep their children far inside the castle walls. Ron, please tell Professor Flitwick to activate the Emergency charms."

  
  


"Commander, they're using that new weapon the Colonel told us about. We've lost Blackhawk Eleven!"

"Who?"

"Horace Andrews, sir!"

The commander cursed. "Pull back! Pull BACK!!!" A blast of green nearly missed his wing. He straightened out to present a thinner profile and began to sideslip left. Diving towards the castle he fired a missile. It hit the castle hard. A number of stones fell off, breaking through the wall. He saw children, huddling, scared. When the wall broke away, they quickly fled through a doorway. "Hold your fire!! There are children in there, do not fire, pull back!!" He pulled up, and saw a blast of green light hit his fighter. 

The last thing he saw was a wall of stone rushing up to meet him.

  
  


"Get out of the castle. OUT OF THE CASTLE!! HOGWARTS IS GOING TO COLLAPSE!!!! GET OUT OF THE CASTLE NOW - NO EXCUSES!!!!!" Professor McGonagall magnified voice roared.

  
  


"Hello, Minister Blair," the voice of Hermione Granger said. "Um....Before your checkup, could you do me a small favor?"

"Sure, dear, what is it?"

"Just touch the dentists' chair before you sit down, on the count of three."

"Why?" Blair asked, puzzled.

"Just do it. One...Two...Three!" Hermione felt the jerk behind her navel and knew that the Portkey was working. Four people and a chair disappeared from the dentist office outside of the Marble Arch.

  
  


Four people and a chair appeared outside a mass of stone that was once a proud castle.

  
  


"That's the prime minister!! What the hell is he doing here?"

  
  


"Wha - What happened? What did you do, Granger?"

"This, Minister, is your proof. Do you happen to remember when a couple of people appeared in your office, claiming that magic exists?"

"Yes, but - weren't they - they were - lying, right?"

"Look around, Prime Minister Blair. Look around. My name is Albus Dumbledore," he offered a hand, "and I was the headmaster of this school for magic that your pilots destroyed. Allow me to introduce Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. If you need any more proof, tell me. Otherwise, I would say peace negotiations would be a good thing."

"Tony Blair, how nice to meet you at last," Fudge said. "Please call off your pilots. Let there be peace."

  
  


Three months later, the negotiations were complete. The magical community was integrated in to the muggle community. Shops were made where wizards would hire themselves out to do jobs that were much easier done with a wand. And the tale of so many muggles killed by Voldemort were allowed to all.

A huge celebration was held in London.

"Fellow humans, we are gathered here today to celebrate the historic joining of two cultures. I introduce to you, and let his name be known to every man in England, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic."

"Thank you all for arriving here today. For a thousand years, witches and wizards have hid themselves from the world. Why? For many years, witches and wizards were burned at the stake, and revealing ourselves would mean death for us all. Today, such fear is no longer necessary. Today, we can live side by side as friends, working for each other in a mutual relationship. Do you see this?" He held up a telephone. "Wizards never invented this. Wizards have never used electricity. Wizards do not use some of the things non-wizards take for granted. But we do otherwise.

"Any ordinary person can use floo powder. You throw it in a fireplace, walk right in, and you will appear in any other fireplace hooked up to floo powder. No more traffic! No more commuting. Instant traveling!!

"We wizards get the benefits of technology. Everyone else gets the benefits of magic. Let there be peace and no animosity between our communities! Let us each benefit from each other!! Let a new age dawn upon this land, where magic and technology collide!!!!!"

  
  


_A\N: I am posting this as part of a project to consolidate all my stories. Also starting an informal "club" to reduce fanfiction.net clutter. Consolidate your stories!! E-mail me to join._


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